In last month’s column, I focused on the history of Medicaid and discussed some of the difficulties that arise when dealing with Medicaid’s many laws, rules and policies. I also told you about some of the problems that people have encountered when applying for Medicaid on their own or without proper guidance.

In this column, I’ll go over the steps you will have to take when applying for Long-Term Care Medicaid on your own.

Medicaid was created in 1965 as Title XIX of the Social Security Act, alongside Medicare, which was Title XVIII of the Act, under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that pays for medical costs for those with limited resources. It also provides some health care benefits that are not covered by Medicare, such as long term care services in nursing homes.

https://okuralaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/logo-4001-blue-300x75.png00michellehttps://okuralaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/logo-4001-blue-300x75.pngmichelle2018-05-07 13:45:272018-05-07 13:45:27Applying For Long Term Care Medicaid: Can You Do It On Your Own?

WHAT OUT OF STATE CHILDREN NEED TO KNOW TO HELP THEIR AGING PARENTS IN HAWAII

By

Ethan R. Okura

We often have clients who raised their families here in Hawaii, and then sent their children off to the mainland or elsewhere in the world to pursue their educations, careers, military service, or raising families of their own. Although the children try to get back to visit Hawai`i nei once every year or two, life gets busy, and that doesn’t always happen. Even for those who do manage to comeread more

https://okuralaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/logo-4001-blue-300x75.png00michellehttps://okuralaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/logo-4001-blue-300x75.pngmichelle2018-03-29 20:09:382018-04-02 20:09:57WHAT OUT OF STATE CHILDREN NEED TO KNOW TO HELP THEIR AGING PARENTS IN HAWAII

When you are starting a new business there are so many things to think about and so much varied advice that comes from different sources. Some people think the first thing you have to do is register a business entity like a corporation or an LLC with the State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Others believe the first thing to do is make a logo, business cards, and a website. Still others say you must start with a business plan. All of these stepsread more

https://okuralaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/photodune-10338313-start-up-business-xs.jpg364548Ethan Okurahttps://okuralaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/logo-4001-blue-300x75.pngEthan Okura2015-08-10 13:49:472016-03-08 22:25:34WHY YOU SHOULD START A BUSINESS (August 2015)

Last year at this time I wrote an article about tax deadlines and the penalties for not filing or not paying on time. This year I want to talk in detail about one of our most innovative and useful strategies that can help clients to save on their taxes.

This strategy is leveraging charitable deductions. Most everyone is familiar with the idea of taking a tax deduction for cash donations to charitable organizations. A common example is money donated to your church, school, or favorite non-profitread more

Most of my clients have heard that you can give away $10,000 per year to any other person without consequences. That’s not exactly correct. Some have heard that you should consider giving away your assets to your children or other loved ones 5 years before you might need to go to a nursing home. Therefore, many of them believe that you should start giving $10,000 per year to each of your children and grandchildren or other loved ones.read more

“’Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.”
– Christopher Bullock (Cobbler of Preston)

Last month I addressed the serious topic of Death and the disposition of your remains. On an only slightly brighter note, this month’s article is focused on the main thing on everyone’s mind at this time of year: Taxes.

Most of us have heard a variation of the quote above, “The only two certainties in life are death and taxes,” usually attributed to Mark Twain. And almostread more

Last month I wrote about the pitfalls of giving your home away without protecting yourself. We came to the conclusion that if you think you have 5 years of good health when you can still live at home before you might need nursing home care, it can be a good idea to transfer your home to your children or other loved ones while keeping a life estate for yourself (and for your spouse) so that you can’t be kicked out of your home.

I left you with a teaser saying that I’d reveal to you why givingread more

We all know that the possibility of incurring disastrous Nursing Home costs is the biggest threat to most people’s estates today. Now that we have an exemption of $5.25 million from estate taxes, only the wealthiest 0.14% of Americans will pay this tax. In other words, 99.86% of us don’t have to worry about the estate tax anymore. What about probate? You may have heard horror stories from the 1980s about probate costs eating up half of the estate. read more

Last month, we started talking about asset protection. We discussed what it is, why it’s necessary to protect ourselves in our country, and how having multiple layers of defense is the best approach. I explained umbrella insurance, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), and the difference between “Inside” and “Outside” liabilities. We saw how LLCs can protect your other assets (which are not owned by the LLC) against inside liabilities,read more

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